Retirement of Professor Sylvia Metcalfe

On Friday 23rd February Professor Cheryl Jones (Department of Paediatrics) and Professor Andrew Sinclair (MCRI) co-hosted an appropriately fabulous festschrift for Professor Sylvia Metcalfe. Sylvia has been employed by the University of Melbourne for over 20 years and has made a major contribution to teaching medical genetics and genomics to a broad range of students. Her impressive research career has greatly influenced the genetic education landscape in Australasia and internationally particularly with regard to GP education, workforce training and genetic screening.

Formal tributes from across Sylvia’s wide range of teaching and research areas were followed by a ‘flash mob’ dance extravaganza to the tune of Walking on Sunshine’. The cocktail party that followed was peppered with video tributes from overseas colleagues and collaborators as well as more dancing and a re-written, cheeky version of the Dr Hook song ‘Sylvia’s mother’.

A truly memorable event for a distinguished and much loved colleague and friend who will be greatly missed.